Already some great groups are opening up their mail to find checks and letters from us! And there’s plenty more to come.

The Petfinder Foundation is extremely grateful to The Animal Rescue Site for funding the challenge every year since 2008. More than $1 million in grants have helped hundreds of shelters and rescue groups, chosen by your votes, better care for homeless pets. The Shelter+ Challenge is an incredible opportunity for so many organizations to earn funds, involve their online supporters and get the word out about what they do in their communities.

Above all, voting in the challenge is fair. Some organizations, unfortunately, have tried to game the system by emailing their supporters with ways to get around the contest’s one-vote-per-day limit. But deleting cookies or refreshing your browser won’t give your group more votes — and neither will any other “secret, surefire” methods. The contest comes with all types of safeguards to ensure that only legitimate votes are counted, and efforts to cheat only damage an organization’s reputation.

Make sure to vote online now for your favorite shelter or rescue group. There are over $100,000 in prizes to be awarded and your vote can make a difference!